Volunteers wanted for UK’s biggest Christmas food collection

18 October 2018

A call has gone out for volunteers to help with the nationwide Tesco Food Collection for people in need this Christmas.

FareShare and The Trussell Trust are asking for members of the public to help at donation points at Tesco stores from Thursday 29 November to Saturday 1 December as part of the 2018 Tesco Food Collection.

The collection, held every year, will see Tesco customers encouraged to donate long-life food to help foodbanks and community groups support people in need this Christmas. Tesco will top up customer donations by 20% to further support the two charities in their work.

Last year enough food to make 3.34 million meals was donated in the Tesco Food Collection, and since the launch in 2012, more than 49 million meals have been donated to the two charities by generous Tesco customers.

To make this year’s collection a success volunteers are needed to hand out shopping lists to customers which lists the food items needed by foodbanks and community groups in their area, and to answer questions customers might have.

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO said: “Volunteers collect enough food to make an average of 600 meals per three hour shift, so we really can’t overestimate how important their contribution is. If you can spare a few hours to volunteer in your local store please do, and please encourage your friends, family and colleagues to get involved as well. You’ll be making an enormous difference.”

Emma Revie, Chief Executive of The Trussell Trust said: “Foodbanks across the country will be doing all they can to provide emergency support so people don’t go hungry this Christmas, but to make sure everyone referred receives vital help our network needs your support. The more people volunteering with foodbanks at the Tesco Food Collection, the more food will be collected from generous shoppers, and the better prepared foodbanks will be for their busiest time of year.”

Tesco UK CEO Jason Tarry said: “Together we can make a real difference this Christmas through Tesco’s Food Collection scheme. Our customers have been incredibly generous in recent years and with the help of volunteers we hope to collect even more this year to support those who really need it.”

“Volunteers collect enough food to make an average of 600 meals per three hour shift, so we really can’t overestimate how important their contribution is.

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO

MORE FARESHARE STORIES

21 February 2019

John Laing Charitable Trust: Thank you from FareShare

Since their first donation, an increase from 3,000 to 16,992 tonnes of in-date, good quality surplus food has been redistributed to charity and community groups across the UK – a number that has grown from 500 to 9,653 in that time.

Half-term isn’t always full of happiness

Student Volunteer Stories: Meet Elle

“I want to go into development and charity work after I finish university, and therefore, as I am interested also in the prevention of food waste, I thought by applying to FareShare it would also boost my experience in the sector I want to go into.”

1 in 8 people go hungry in the UK, yet perfectly good food is wasted every day. Join the NewsFeed community to help us #feedpeoplefirst.

Serving heart-warming stories behind the meals, campaign updates, as well as volunteering opportunities, regional events, national news and other ways for you to join the fight against hunger and food waste.